Nokia Lumia 820 owners came in for a special treat recently when Nokia announced they were releasing the 3D Printing files so you can make your own shell for the mainstream Windows Phone 8 smartphone. Here we look at how to get your Nokia Lumia 820 3D Shell made.

If you’re thinking of getting your own Nokia Lumia 820 shell made at a 3D Printing boutique then there are a few things you need to know. While we’d all love for the technology to be so fast we can simply drop in, order a shell and walk out with one, you’ll have to wait.

We’ve been chatting with Nick Allen who runs 3DPrint UK in London, who actually had his first batch of Nokia Lumia 820 shells in the machine as we spoke. He informed us that to have one case made would take around three hours. However, most commercial 3D Printers don’t simply do one-off prints, they make a number of prints at one time so you could well have to wait around five hour while a batch of six are made.

Nick told us that the Nokia Lumia 820 shell design has seen the best response he’s ever had for a one-off 3D Print, ‘calls have been in the 10s rather than the 100s but that’s still more demand that we usually see!’ he told us.

And the cost? Nick reckons a one-off Nokia Lumia 820 shell will cost around you £35, which is great value for something unique when you consider that a spare Nokia Lumia 820 shell costs £20 anyway.

However, there are things you need to take into account when choosing a 3D printer. After all, there are different types of 3D Printer out there. For example, Nick told us that their particular printer uses high-detail resin and is capable of creating the finest detail but doesn’t deliver the strongest results, while other machines offer a more robust 3D Print suitable for a Nokia Lumia 820 shell but with possibly slightly less detail. So, when it comes to 3D Printing it pays to shop around for the finish you’re after.

If you’re seriously thinking of getting a Nokia Lumia 820 3D Print shell made these are the things you need to take into account. We’d like to thank Nick at 3DPrint UK for giving up the time to speak to us.